Wonder Women

Podcast Transcription

Narrator: Welcome to "Flippin Off," a purpose-driven podcast about flipping houses and making a difference.

Melina: Well, hello. Hello. Melina Boswell here, New Wealth Advisors Club, and I am so excited today because what I have is girlfriends in the house. I'm so happy because this is the first time, actually, that we've done a podcast without Dave, which is amazing, except for the time when some of the team hijacked our podcast, and then neither Dave or I were here. But Dave or I have never done a podcast without the other. So today is a special day for me because it is all about girls.

So it's about...and I say, "Girls," but, you know, women, girls, whatever. I think girls is fine. I like girls, too. Yeah. I have with me today Kim Jacobson and Christie Weber, who are both club members, and girls flip houses, too. That's who they are. So they just closed on their first deal together. Yes, people, yes, they did their own flip, all on their own, with Dawn Galvez. Dawn, unfortunately, is not able to be here with us today. She was supposed to be here, but she's, like, giving a kidney, right?

Female: No, she went to a wedding on the East Coast, flying back today.

Melina: Yeah, but...oh, she's...

Female: She does that next month.

Melina: Oh, next month. Okay, yeah. So I'm just saying she's just like, you know...it's kind of indicative of, like, who women are in general. So I really wanted to...I say that because, you know, Dawn really is donating a kidney to her cousin. And just to sort of give the audience, you listeners, an idea of, you know, who these women are that I really have been trying to get in here together at the same time, for months. We haven't been able to coordinate it because, you know, they are such special women, right?

I think that's kind of the conversation of this podcast, is women in the workplace, women as entrepreneurs, women in the marketplace, and not losing who we are as women. So I think it's important to just, like, acknowledge Dawn. She's at a wedding this weekend, but the last time that we were trying to get together, one of the times, I don't know, but we've just been having a lot of conversations that, like, that sort of, to me, is like the perfect envelopment of who women are, right? So Dawn is, you know, this amazing entrepreneur. She is a hard worker. She is a smart worker. She also has that special uniqueness that I think that only embodies in women, and that is just the gift to nurture and to give.

So why don't we start today by...if you guys don't mind, I'd like to start with just...let's share, first of all, about your deal, and then we'll talk about, you know...I feel like we could do...we could probably do an entire series on women in real estate, women in business, you know, in and of itself. We've already been talking about it and the importance and the passion that both of you feel, that I feel, too, of wanting women to know that they can be in business and flip houses, too. So why don't you talk about, like, maybe...so, Kim, this is your second time actually being in the podcast studio.

Kim: Right.

Melina: You were actually part of the hijack.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: Which is awesome.

Kim: Yeah.

Melina: So why don't you share a little bit about, like, you know...we'll start with you, Kim, like, when you started with the club, and maybe just share a little bit of your journey, and then we'll have Christie do the same thing, and then we'll talk about the deal, how we found it, and what we did with it. Cool? Okay.

Kim: Great.

Melina: Go ahead.

Kim: So I have been with the club, in December, it will be three years.

Melina: Oh.

Kim: I think I shared this on the last podcast, but for me, part of why I chose to get involved in this career, this field, is because all these other jobs I had had...I had amazing jobs. I loved them. But as I worked my way up, it always felt like, at some point, I reached that ceiling, and I couldn't go any further.

Melina: Wait. Do you mean the glass ceiling is real?

Kim: I think it exists. I've hit it several times.

Melina: Wow. Yeah.

Kim: Yeah.

Melina: Sorry to interrupt.

Kim: No, that's fine. So for me, I always say it's kind of a blessing and a curse, but I just like to always have a challenge. So when I would reach these limits, is what I felt, I just felt very suffocated and wanted to move to something else that was gonna challenge me. So for me, I wanted to get involved with real estate, where I could really go as far as I wanted to go, and there wouldn't be a limit. I could make as much money as I wanted to. I could really, I felt, see the fruits of my labor pay off in a different way, versus working for a company, where the fruits of my labor pays off for them.

Melina: Right.

Kim: So that was huge, and then, you know, moved to Southern California from Northern California and, by the grace of God, found New Wealth and just loved it. It was everything I needed to get this business up and running. Like, I know you mention a lot, Melina, the relationships I made here. This is where I met Dawn. This is where I met Christie. I've been able to do a number of transactions with you, and it's just such a blessing to find women that can work as hard and partner up and stay the course.

Melina: Yeah, and not be catty, right?

Kim: Right.

Melina: Like, not scratch each other's eyes out because there's something...there's some stigma that goes with women in business. We were talking about that earlier.

Christie: Definitely.

Melina: Right? So, Christie, why don't you share with us a little bit about maybe, you know, your background, how you came to us, and how long you've been with us?

Christie: Well, I've been with the club about a year now, and it was actually my husband who did the research. Well, taking it back about six years ago, I started working with my father, who started a business. And in the beginning, I was just getting involved to help him. The more I helped him, the more I just started to fill the needs of the business. So I started to grow with the business, and before we knew it, I was helping my father run the business, right, which, I mean, just a side note, is a business that is very male-dominated.

Melina: Yes.

Christie: So being in that business really made me understand that just because I'm a female doesn't mean that I can't overcome some of the stereotypes involved in certain business. It was guns and ammunition, right? Couldn't be more of a male business.

Kim: Awesome.

Christie: And quite honestly, when I got into it, I knew nothing about it.

Melina: Right. Wow.

Christie: But so I was with him. I started from the very beginning, from the, you know, from the building. I mean, it was just an empty warehouse. So I started with that. About, I'd say, probably about two years ago, we got involved in some legal issues with the business. And so everything that I had worked for over those years had come pretty much to an abrupt stop. And I was kind of having a bit of a pity party, right, because my entire life had revolved around this company. I'd get in at like 7:00 in the morning and I'd leave at 10:00 at night, and then I'd go home. When I got home, I'd start answering emails. So, I mean, this was my life.

Melina: Yes.

Christie: So when this came to a stop pretty quickly, I felt very empty because I was so used to being so busy and having so much work that I really didn't know what to do. It was my husband who was like, "You know, you might want to look into real estate." And at the time, I'm thinking about, you know, "I should get my real estate license." I'm not sure how, but he came across you guys, and he said, "You know, let's just go check it out. Let's just go check it out." And so that's how I found New Wealth, and it's been a blessing.

Melina: Yeah, and so you're married for how long?

Christie: Oh, gosh. Put me on the spot. In November, it'll be 17 years.

Melina: Okay. Very good. Good, good, good.

Christie: It'll be 17 years.

Melina: That's awesome, and you have...

Christie: I've got two boys.

Melina: Two boys.

Christie: 21 and 24.

Melina: There you go.

Christie: So, yeah, like, the female, right, I stayed home, and I raised...I worked prior to having my children. Then when my kids were born, I tried to work for about a month, and then you know the guilt. The guilt kind of came in.

Melina: Yes.

Christie: And I'm like, "I need to be home, raising my kids." Fortunately, my husband is a firefighter, so I...he had a job where I was allowed to do that.

Melina: Yes.

Christie: But the whole time I was at home with my kids, as much as I loved that, I was thinking, "You know, I'd love to be doing something else." Once my youngest one got into high school, which is when I started working again, and...

Melina: Yeah, I think that's an important piece. Huge.

Christie: Yeah.

Kim: Huge.

Melina: It's an important piece, I think, of your story because I believe that there's so many other women out there that can relate to where you are, you know, the seasons that you've gone through and where you are right now. So let's talk a little bit about the deal, if we don't mind, and then we'll keep on talking girl talk. So tell me, first of all, like, where did we...how did we find this homeowner?

Kim: So this was a door knock.

Christie: Our first, our first together.

Kim: Yes. I don't know that...yeah. So I was coaching Christie, and we went door-knocking out in Costa Mesa and ended up...it almost appeared that...

Christie: We didn't door-knock.

Kim: She wasn't even...yeah, right, because the door was slightly open.

Christie: Cracked.

Kim: No one came to the door. As I started to push the door open, all of a sudden, we hear movement and...

Christie: So at first, we're like, you know...we almost left, actually. And here's Kim. And I'm freaking out. This is my first time doing this. And Kim's like going around the site.

Kim: Don't try this at home.

Christie: They've got a gate out in front.

Kim: Yeah.

Christie: The gate is closed, and Kim's like, "Oh, the gate's unlocked." So she kind of pushes her way through the gate and then...

Melina: Fearless.

Christie: Right. And then she's like kind of checking out, and I'm thinking, "What is she doing?" Right? "What is she doing?"

Melina: She's being unstoppable.

Christie: She's being unstoppable. So then we go to the front door and you were...I think we were getting ready to leave a Post-It, and we realized the door was kind of cracked.

Melina: It was ajar.

Kim: It was. I mean, it was inviting me in. Like, let's just go find out what's happening here.

Christie: And Kim's like, "I'm just gonna go in there."

Kim: Right?

Melina: That's so great. I love that. That's so excellent. So the owner came out. And we don't want to give up too many details, you know?

Kim: Right.

Christie: Right.

Melina: You know, yeah, personal details. But the owner came out. Is that right?

Kim: She did.

Melina: Okay.

Kim: She came to the door.

Melina: Yeah.

Kim: And, you know, we did what we do. We just asked her what was going on and how things were going. We found out she was working on a loan mod and had paid someone to do that. So that was a red flag for us.

Christie: Red flag.

Kim: Here's what I think was great about it. Christie and I were talking about this earlier today. You know, of course, we have the knowledge and, you know, I know the questions to ask her and that sort of thing, but I feel like what made Christie and I a really great team at the door was Christie had been through this process before. So, sure, I know the questions to ask her and how to get the information out, but Christie was able to explain to her, "I've been there. You know, I paid people money," or, you know, whatever. And she really connected on that heart level with the homeowner. You know, we knew from the get-go she wasn't gonna get a loan mod. She was...

Christie: She was...

Kim: She had a 2% interest rate already. So it couldn't get any lower than that and...

Christie: And her income was not gonna change.

Kim: No. Correct.

Christie: Right.

Kim: So, you know, we looked at maybe bankruptcy. That wasn't an option because she didn't have any credit card debt. But even still, you know, we said, "Well, we can look at this." Let me pause that.

Melina: No, that's okay. So, Kim, Kim...

Christie: We still needed to go through the process. All right, Kim. Sorry. She dropped her headset. So, anyway.

Kim: That was fun. Okay. So, yeah.

Melina: Because Dave's big head was in that. That's why.

Kim: Oh. Tighten this baby. Okay. But you know what was great is being able to say, "Hey, look, we might be missing something. We work with someone who's been doing this for over 20 years, and we would be more than happy to arrange a time for you to meet with Melina, who, you know...so she's awesome. She knows this business so well. So we can bring you to her, and maybe she can see something we're not seeing."

Christie: Right.

Kim: So it was a great relief for us to take her to a certain point, but then have you bring in that credibility and just, like, the closer, to a certain extent, or that one other expert that can say, "Yeah, you're not gonna be able to keep..."

Melina: Right.

Kim: Exactly.

Melina: Exactly. So we did that. I met with her, and I was able to speak truth to her because you guys had done a great job at giving me the opportunity to open her ears to be able to hear what I had to say, which was absolutely the truth. So there isn't any game-playing. There isn't any, you know, word-smithing happening. Like, the truth is what it is, and it's exactly like you just said. Like, income isn't gonna change, and payment isn't gonna change. So there's no foreseeable opportunity for the circumstances to change. The bottom line was this homeowner was facing foreclosure, and there was no remedy in sight for her. So realistically, what she needed to do was find a place where she could actually afford it because we knew her income wasn't going to change, so we needed to help her to get there.

Kim: Right. And that was a huge piece of it.

Melina: Yeah.

Kim: Because, I mean, like so many homeowners we work with, the thought of losing a place that they've lived for so long, it's just overwhelming, and she had many other things going on in her life, of course.

Melina: Of course. They usually do.

Kim: Yeah.

Christie: This was a home that she shared with her husband who she had lost. So she had a lot of emotional ties to it.

Melina: Absolutely. That's a big deal. So we were able to eventually step in, and we reached an agreement with her, right?

Kim: Eight months later.

Melina: Yeah.

Christie: Well, if we could just back up just a little bit.

Melina: Sure.

Christie: I think that part of the puzzle piece to getting her to come to terms with where she was at was Kim and I, we made it...every phone call we made to the bank or to Keep Your Home California or to the attorney that had taken her money to do the loan mod, it was always on speaker. So she had that...she was hearing it from that other person as well. It wasn't just Kim or I relaying the message to her. Like, she had...there wasn't any question there...

Melina: Yeah.

Christie: ...as to whether or not, when we were relaying it to her, were we spinning it, you know?

Melina: Right.

Christie: Because she was very...it took her a while before she trusts us, and I think part of that was hearing that third person, that person that wasn't involved, because she had been approached by so many people.

Melina: Of course.

Christie: Right. They're inundated with mail.

Melina: Yes. Yes.

Christie: They've got people knocking on their doors.

Melina: Yep.

Christie: And you really just don't know who to trust. She had been taken advantage of by this company who was doing business out of state.

Melina: Yeah.

Christie: So every time we made a phone call, we made sure that she was in on the phone call.

Melina: That's so important.

Christie: So that she could hear the same thing that we were hearing and she could hear it coming straight from their mouths. That way, it wasn't us interpreting what they were saying, because anytime someone else is interpreting it, you always have to question, "Are they telling me the truth?"

Melina: Absolutely.

Christie: I think that was important. I think that ultimately, also...and then again, like you said, bringing Melina in...

Kim: Huge.

Christie: Yeah, very, very important.

Melina: Yeah, that's great. That's really good insight. Yeah. Like, that's such a...I feel like that's a $10,000 tip that you just gave, Christie, honestly, like, to, in order to...because you're right. You shouldn't be offended if a homeowner is not automatically trusting you. I've actually said...I've looked at homeowners who have said...I've actually had to say to them, "You need to trust nobody," and I've actually said, "Don't even trust me."

Melina: You know, especially when you have people that are in, you know, these kinds of circumstances. I want them to have, like, their people, you know, listen to what I'm saying because if not, you know, that's the way that you build credibility and trust.

Kim: Absolutely.

Melina: And the reality is that we are doing the best for them. So we have nothing to hide.

Christie: Exactly.

Melina: You know? So it is completely legitimate for them to be reluctant and skeptical.

Kim: Of course.

Christie: Well, one of the biggest things I came up when I was going through the same process was we had paid money to somebody who obviously said that they would represent us on our behalf.

Melina: Yeah.

Christie: Oh, by the way, don't call the bank.

Melina: Yeah.

Christie: Whatever you do, don't call the bank. Don't talk to them.

Melina: Right.

Christie: You know, after about six months of, "What's going on," and still getting stuff from the bank, we called the bank, and the bank said, "Oh, we never talked to them." Same thing happened with Regina.

Melina: Yes.

Christie: Right?

Melina: Yes.

Kim: Yeah.

Melina: Absolutely, and that's very normal for that to take place. And, you know, the thing is that a lot of the perpetrators, they expect that, you know, a homeowner is...they don't want to talk to their bank. So it's almost like, you know, music to their ears. They say, "Don't talk to the bank." The homeowner is like, "Uh, no problem." Right? I don't want to talk to them anyway. So that's why you can easily fall into that trap. The last thing you want to do is have a conversation with the bank that you don't know how to have, right?

Christie: Right.

Melina: So that makes perfect sense to me.

Kim: Yeah.

Christie: Right.

Kim: The other piece, real quick, is we definitely brought her family into the conversation.

Melina: Yes.

Kim: Because obviously, it's gonna affect them, and we...

Christie: We were very honest.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: Yes.

Christie: With them.

Melina: That's such a big part.

Christie: With the girls who were younger, who were going to school.

Kim: Yeah. Yeah, the whole family.

Christie: Son and the daughter.

Melina: Yes, that's really, really key. That's a good place. So you guys did a great job. In my mind, this is the most valuable part of this business, and it's the part that nobody ever talks about. People want to talk about, you know, "So how did you decide what paint color to use," right?

Melina: No, it's not, and that's actually not where the magic happens.

Christie: No.

Melina: And that's not the crux of the business. The crux of the business is exactly what we're talking about right now. It's not really sexy, right?

Christie: It's a lot of work.

Melina: It's a lot of work. Yeah.

Christie: And it tugs at your heartstrings.

Melina: Yes. Yes. And so I think that's an important piece of information to have, is that it does tug at your heartstrings, and the reason that it does is because you guys have both really sold out to the idea of stepping into the homeowner's world, right, stepping into their world and being willing to serve them no matter what. I know when this conversation with her first started, you guys were really, you know...if there was a way for you to help her to stay in that property, you would have.

Christie: That was the ultimate goal.

Melina: Absolutely. That was always the goal, and I know that to be the truth.

Christie: But then at some point, it flips from wanting to help her stay in it, to seeing that she is not gonna be able to stay in it, and then not wanting her to get taken advantage of.

Melina: Exactly.

Christie: Right? Then being her advocate.

Melina: Absolutely. That's a great way to say it. Absolutely being her advocate. So let's fast-forward a little. You guys ended up...she came to the realization and the agreement that she needed to sell. So you were able to go ahead and buy the house.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: So why don't you tell us...you got a little creative because you had to get creative because there was equity in the property, but not a whole lot, specifically based on the condition of the house.

Kim: Right.

Melina: So the house was in major disrepair.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: Right? It needed a lot of work. And so, you know, that obviously has an impact on the fair market value.

Kim: Right.

Melina: Right? Which directly impacts the amount of money that she would be able to get, if any.

Kim: Right.

Melina: And she was also facing foreclosure.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: She had an actual trustee sale date, right?

Kim: Exactly. Yeah.

Melina: So you guys ended up buying the house for how much?

Kim: Well, we were able to do a "Subject To". So we acquired the property for basically $110,000. So that brought up the arrears of about $88,000, and then the only way that we were gonna be able to allow her...that we were gonna be willing to purchase this house was if she had a plan to move out, and actually more than a plan, like, the actual lease agreement. So Dave was, you know, adamant about that, which was...

Christie: Awesome.

Kim: Yes.

Christie: Necessary.

Kim: Absolutely necessary. So, I mean, real quick, we had to spend a lot of time and energy just even finding a place for her because she wasn't even capable. She couldn't handle that.

Christie: That was a big challenge.

Kim: That was huge. So the $110,000 was not only to bring up the arrears, but to put down a six-month advance rent for her, put down the security deposit, all that, and movers to move her.

Christie: So that was another hat we wore, was leasing agent.

Kim: Yes.

Christie: Right?

Kim: Yep. And movers.

Christie: And movers.

Kim: Even though we hired movers, you know, it was great to see other club members come out and help us move her. That's always...

Christie: We had to find her a storage.

Kim: Yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah, for her stuff.

Melina: Yes. So advocate. Yes.

Christie: Yeah.

Kim: Yeah, so we acquired the property, "Subject To," acquired it for $110,000. She owed...

Melina: So you say, "Subject To." That means subject to the existing mortgage.

Kim: Correct.

Melina: So it was a creative acquisition.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: So you took over ownership of the property.

Kim: Correct.

Melina: But you kept her current mortgage in place.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: And in order to do that, you had to bring that loan current, which was $88,000.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: And then you still had the first loan in place, which was how much?

Kim: Well, the total loan was $565,000. So, I mean, we paid, you know, about...let's just round it at $90,000 of that. So the remaining balance was gonna be $435,000.

Melina: Got it. Okay. Good.

Kim: Okay.

Melina: And so then you came in after you got her moved and got her a place, her stuff in storage, and then we started...you started the rehab.

Kim: Yes.

Melina: So let's talk about...and by the way, there's...this is when I remember we went over to the house, and I said to these ladies...if you haven't seen them yet, you'll see that the three of them are really beautiful. So they're not only beautiful on the inside, they are really beautiful on the outside. And I said, "You know, you ladies need to really, like, leverage what you have. There's nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with, you know, sharing your strength, your power, your power and your beauty and your intelligence with the rest of the world." So they have...they created a bunch of videos, which was way outside their comfort zone.

Christie: So far outside our comfort zone.

Kim: Yeah, and I'm actually glad you're bringing that up because this...you know, Dawn and I have been working together three years and really working on coaching students. So we were the ones who said, "Let's just do this. Girls flip houses, too." But then it was such an honor and privilege to have Christie be a part of this deal and such an amazing asset to our team. Even the Hemet flip that Dawn and I are doing, you know, there's a woman involved in that, you know, which we love. And it's not that we're anti-guys. We just love seeing women realize their potential and moving in that.

But this whole video thing, you know, both Dawn and I especially, and I'm sure Christie is, too...like, Facebook, you know, it's a love/hate thing, right?

Melina: Totally.

Kim: Seriously? Do I need to let the whole world know what I'm doing? You know, do I have to sell myself? And I think as women, we do have a harder time selling ourselves or thinking...

Christie: Oh, yeah. How many times did we say, "Okay, erase that," right? Because we're looking at it, going...

Melina: Start over.

Christie: Oh. Yeah, can you get it from the waist up, right?

Melina: Right. Yes.

Christie: You're so hard on yourself.

Melina: Yes, thank you for saying that.

Kim: We want to wear workout clothes.

Christie: Yeah. Like, we'd get there, and Kim would be like, "We're gonna do a video," and, "Oh. Well, I don't have on makeup today."

Melina: Right.

Kim: Right.

Melina: Right.

Christie: Right? Guys don't have to deal with that quite as much as we do.

Melina: Yeah. Absolutely true, and I think that's a very important piece. Like, these are the things that I wanted to talk about.

Kim: Right.

Melina: I love that about you two, that you're just willing to be that transparent and that honest, because I am so with you. Like, I struggle with this constantly. So I know you do. That's why I could call you out on it.

Kim: Right.

Melina: Hey, you ladies need to do this, and it's uncomfortable. You know, and we were having this conversation before we came into the podcast studio. What is it about women, right, that we still are...you know, I don't want to...I don't believe that the world hates women. I don't even think misogyny is that big of a problem. I actually believe that it's ourselves. We hold ourselves back. And why is that, right? Like, why is it that we operate, so much of us, in insecurity? So I love that you said we don't hate men, and we don't even blame men for where we are. We take full responsibility. Don't you think it's been the messaging that we've been given, like, our whole lives, right?

You know, I was saying to you guys earlier. I just remember a commercial in, like, the '70s, I think it was. Was it the '70s, where the lady came in, and she would say...I don't even know what the commercial was for, but she said, you know, "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan. So I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and..."

Christie: It's like for some women's body wash or something, right?

Kim: No.

Christie: No, it was. It was like some relaxation thing.

Melina: It was, which is kind of hilarious. Now, I don't remember...

Christie: I don't remember the name.

Melina: I don't remember what the product was. I just remember the idea that a woman could bring home the bacon.

Christie: It's like bath soap or something.

Melina: It might have been, which is kind of funny, but the idea that women can bring home the bacon, meaning, we can go to work and make money.

Christie: Earn money.

Melina: Yes, and then come home and cook.

Kim: Right.

Melina: Right? The other very real part of women, because you don't have to be one or the other, and I feel like that's so much of the miss, is that we've been taught, "Either you're a stay-at-home mom, right, or you are a businesswoman," but the idea that you could blend the two of them, like the idea that we could take our...

Christie: And be good at both.

Melina: Right. Right.

Christie: You can do them, but you're not gonna...if you're a really good stay-at-home mom, your professional career is gonna suffer.

Melina: Right.

Christie: If you're really good at your professional career, and you dedicate a lot to that, your home life has to be a mess.

Melina: Exactly. You can't possibly...

Christie: You can't do them both.

Melina: Right, and you can't possibly produce children that are, you know...

Christie: Successful and just, you know, well-adjusted.

Melina: Right. Right. Yeah, so that's the lie I think that a lot of us buy into, and I almost feel like we...there might be a little bit of...like, I feel like we choose to believe that, you know? I believe that the onus is on us to change that. I don't think that it's up to men to change it. I don't think that it's up to the government to change it. I don't think it's up to anybody to change it. I think it's up to us, right? We have to take responsibility for that ourselves. It isn't as if we don't have the same opportunities. It's just such a unique way of being for us, for women, in business and I think, specifically, in real estate, flipping, because it's such a male-dominated field, right?

You know, literally, we have a handful of women inside the club that have had great success. And my goal is...my heart is always for more women to embrace, like, their power, to embrace their greatness, to embrace their, you know, like, fierceness.

Kim: Right.

Melina: Without being labeled, right? I was saying earlier, if we do that, so much of the time, we're labeled, you know, with something starts with a B and ends with an H, and it doesn't have to be that way.

Kim: Oh, no. No. I could talk about this subject for, like, hours. It's fascinating to me. I was just sharing with Christie an article I was reading about how a man and woman were up for promotion, and they said the guy...they looked at the guy. They said, "He's hardworking. He's ambitious. While he's let a few eggs drop, he's a winner. We can promote him." Then they looked at the woman, and they said, "She's hardworking. She's ambitious. But she's let a few eggs drop so that's a concern." And at least this company, like, they actually then reviewed their notes and realized what they did, and they gave both of them a promotion.

But the reason I bring this up is, I mean, I think, you know, sure, I'm not gonna blame society or anything, but I think there are those things that happen out there. However, women, I think...what I love about that article is I feel like it does summarize, to an extent, how women...how we act. We are well-aware of our shortcomings, too well-aware of them.

Melina: Yes.

Kim: So we're the first ones to usually own our responsibility, or a lot of us. I know I can be this way, versus...so we look at our shortcomings more than our strengths, and we allow that to hold us back.

Melina: Right.

Kim: You know, so come into real estate. Fine. We can think that we can connect with homeowners well. But can we close the deal? Can we be that tough negotiator? Can we have those hard...

Christie: Can we deal with the construction side of it?

Kim: Yeah, have the hard conversations with the contractors? You know, we might think, "Oh, that's a man's world. I don't know anything about, you know, plumbing and da, da, da." Who cares? Learn it.

Christie: Exactly. Educate yourself.

Melina: Right.

Kim: We, as women, are capable. It's not rocket science. You know, each deal, you learn more, and you learn more about the escrow transaction. But I think women, specifically, are way scared of making that mistake. I mean, I can be a perfectionist, and I know you've helped me a ton with this, Melina, like, "I just hate not knowing what I'm doing. I just want to know." So just enjoy the process. But, you know, yeah, I think women take their failures a lot more intensely and personally than men do.

Melina: Very good. I think that's absolutely correct, and that is something...and I know for you...and this is something I've had to learn by being in business myself for so many years. There was a moment in time, maybe you've heard me say this, that I remember when I had the realization that I could get paid based on the work that I do.

Kim: Amen.

Melina: That was like a huge...that was such a big switch for me, and I said, "Oh. Well, I'm gonna do that because I know I'm gonna outwork everybody. I know that I have this ridiculous..."

Christie: Drive.

Melina: Yeah, I have ridiculous drive. I have a ridiculous work ethic. And so once I started to realize that I could actually get paid based on...like my income would be commensurate with my ability and the amount that I do, I was like, "I am never not doing that again."

Kim: Right.

Melina: Yes, that was a double-negative, and I know it.

Christie: It's based entirely on how much you were willing to put into it.

Melina: Absolutely. Exactly. So I said, "I'm gonna be doing that for the rest of my life." And I have not had a job, like a paycheck job, for, I don't know, over 20 years. I never will. I'm always going to make money, and I know that now. So I have a saying, right? Whenever things come up, I always say this, "Well, let's just go make more money."

Kim: Right. But so another huge piece of that, Melina, is like what I hear you saying that. You're not saying...so there is...not only did you know you were worth getting paid, but I find...we were talking about this earlier. Women can sometimes say, "Well, I don't really need all that money."

Melina: Right.

Kim: So it's one thing to say, "Okay. I'm gonna get paid for the work that I do," but then sometimes, we can say, "Well, it's not a big deal. You know, they can make, you know, twice as much money on me. I'm fine with just make..." You know, it's like moving into that place of, "Heck, no."

Melina: Right.

Kim: Like, I am bringing so much value. You know, it just seems when women demand that, it does sometimes come across differently.

Melina: Comes off differently. Absolutely, it does, and that's what we're trying to break here. We're trying to break that perception, break that mold. You know, our goal is to hopefully inspire women out there. You know what's cool, too, is that, Kim, you're single, right?

Kim: Yep.

Melina: Christie is married with children. Dawn is single.

Kim: Right.

Melina: It really doesn't matter where, what walk of life you come from.

Kim: No. Right.

Melina: Which is fantastic in my mind. You don't have to be married. You don't have to be single. Like, you really can have it all.

Kim: Yeah.

Melina: That's really the goal that we, I think, want to get across to women that are out there right now, is possibilities. You know, I don't want to sell the dream, but I do want to sell possibilities.

Kim: You know, yeah, I've just been thinking of, so much in this podcast, my dad who, you know, had three girls. So I feel like from the moment I could walk, we were playing baseball or whiffle ball, you know? But that, you know, because he...both my parents, but especially my dad, made me feel like I could do anything I wanted to do.

Melina: You're so lucky that you had that, right?

Kim: Right. And I'm so grateful for that. And I think in line with what you're saying, we just want women to know. It doesn't have to be like girl power or, you know, girls are better.

Melina: No. No.

Kim: It's just like, "Women, just know you are so capable. You can do this. You have everything you need to do this and do it well."

Melina: Yes, I agree with that. So let me...I want to...I'm gonna spring a question on both of you that I didn't tell you I was going to because it just hit me.

Christie: Oh, no.

Melina: Yeah. So, well, let's talk about...let's kind of wrap up where we were in terms of the conversation with this last flip that you guys just did. So let's just kind of run through it. You guys ended up acquiring the property. Why don't we just run through, like, where did the numbers...yeah, let's do the numbers.

Kim: Okay. We want the numbers.

Melina: Let's do that. Absolutely.

Kim: So, okay. This is exciting. So, yeah, acquired at $110,000. Rehab was $70,000 and maybe a little bit more. We had laid the contract out that if we made over $800,000, the homeowner would get 50% of the profit.

Christie: Right. After costs.

Kim: Exactly. So we had a great time rehabbing the project with Varton.

Christie: Yeah, it's beautiful.

Kim: Yeah, it was...Christie had some awesome interior design touches. We just all worked so well together. Varton had a blast with us. Yes, you did, Varton.

Christie: Well, did he?

Kim: He did.

Christie: Are you sure he had a...

Kim: He loved us. He watched the last video. So, no, he loved us.

Christie: Varton had an idea how he wanted to do it, and then there was our idea.

Kim: No.

Christie: So it was working that up. So great.

Kim: Yeah. We worked really...we loved working with Varton. So anyway, so then we closed at $815,000.

Christie: Yeah.

Kim: So bottomline is after all the costs were, you know, taken care of, we had a profit of $90,000.

Melina: That's amazing. Isn't that exciting?

Kim: Which was very cool flip.

Melina: Really exciting to have that on a flip. Yeah, you guys did do beautiful work. I think it's so...I think it's excellent that you called out Varton. You know, why not? Seriously. I am certain he learned a lot through this process.

Christie: I think he did, too.

Melina: I think he did, and I think Varton is a...he's a great human being. I think he's a great contractor, and I think it's probably something he will never ever forget.

Christie: Well, he did share with us when we first...as we got towards the middle of it, and he had been working with us for a while, he did share with us that in the beginning, he was like, "Oh, my gosh. I'm working with three women. How's this gonna go?" Right? Like, how is this gonna go? I'm not sure about this. But I think that it went so smoothly because he was concerned that amongst the three of us, we were gonna have all different ideas and communication issues. We really didn't.

Christie: But I think you're right. I think he learned a lot from us. I think that he was very used to just going in and doing it and getting it done, but there had to be a lot of communication with us because we had ideas as well.

Kim: Yeah, I mean, this wasn't your typical flip, where you come in...

Christie: It was not.

Kim: It was a different neighborhood. So there were certain elements of the property that absolutely needed to stand out. I mean, when you list a house...we listed it for $840,000. We took $815,000 because we didn't have to pay them commission, but, so, yeah. It's not just like doing a $400,000 flip. Totally different.

Christie: It wasn't a cookie-cutter flip.

Kim: No, definitely not.

Christie: We spent a lot of time going through open-houses in the track to see what they were doing and how much they were getting for the homes. So we did our homework, for sure. We put some time into it.

Melina: Very good. Very good.

Kim: Okay. What's your question?

Melina: All right. So I have one question. Maybe it's something different for each one of you, but I'm gonna ask you, Kim, if you would share. The one thing I'd like to hear from you is when you are in the...you know, I obviously have been really close with you, and I've spent a lot of time mentoring you. So I would like you to share with the audience the one thing, if you could put one thing...what is it that you hold on to that has kept you, you know, in the game? In other words, I know that when you're in the valley, right, and you've hit valleys, because we all do, as entrepreneurs.

Kim: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Melina: When you've hit the valleys, what have you done? Like, if you could point to maybe one or two things that have, you know, been like your anchor, your focus, like, what do you look at or toward when you're in the valley and you know...like, even when you feel like quitting, because we all feel like quitting, right? So what is...

Kim: Yeah.

Melina: Yeah. So what is the anchor if you could share that?

Kim: I love that question. Thanks, Melina. I'm glad that you said, "One or two things." Okay, so two things come to mind. One is, you know, you always talk about making sure you know your "why." So of course, you know my passion for global stuff, and I have so many organizations that I've worked with around the world and have a family in Nigeria that I support. And I definitely come back to that a lot. Like, hey, the whole reason I did this was to, like, either bring those kids over to the U.S. or to make sure they have a really great life over there, and, you know, friends in Cambodia and India and Africa, yada, yada. So that's a huge "why" for me, but I...

Melina: Don't yada-yada that because that's actually big, right? Like, I mean, that is such a big deal. And I think it's important for everybody, for the listeners, to understand that because I know it's powerful. So don't yada-yada it.

Kim: Okay. Thanks.

Melina: Yeah.

Kim: Might tear up here. Okay. But, yeah, so, and just to...you know, I saw so many women in Africa and Cambodia that had been really taken advantage of, whether they're being sex-trafficked, or their husbands went out and got HIV/AIDS, gave them that, and then the women are ostracized. So in order for these women to survive, they have to have businesses. And all of a sudden, they're left raising the kids or trying to get a life of their own with all these stigmatizations. So I've always kind of felt like if I'm able to succeed in business and especially...sometimes, I think it's God's funny plan of keeping me single so I can go inspire other women who don't have a husband to rely on, that they can do a business as well. So that's huge.

The second thing that anchors me is the fear of if I do quit. So, like a fear of, "Shoot. I have to go get a job again," you know? Go back to working 9:00 to 5:00? Like, I don't want to quit. I'm not a quitter, and sometimes, that can actually be a deterrent, I would think, in some ways. But, no, I think it comes back to, especially for women, thinking of what we want. Like, what do I really want? I mean, okay, fine, I'd like to quit. But what's the alternative? So I do go back, and I start working 9:00 to 5:00, and then I have to feel like I gave up on my dreams and my hopes. And when I know, probably...you know, I attribute everything to God in my life, but I believe, you know, I have the ability to do this with His help.

So to give up on myself would...it's just not worth it. You know, I remember a woman in my life. I hate to bring this in to an extent, but, like, let's just take dating. I think women, a lot of times, that they're saying, "Oh, does he like me? You know, am I enough for him?" This woman just said to me, "Kim, what do you want? Like, what do you want? Is he what you want?" So I just bring that in to, like, with business, it comes back to, "What do you want, Kim?" You know? And then just going for it and believing it can happen. But those two things anchor me, my "why" and then just really knowing, being clear on what I want.

Melina: Very good.

Kim: Not settling for anything less.

Melina: Those are great. Okay. Thank you for that. So, Christie, I have a different question for you.

Christie: I hope so because I can't...I hope it's way different than that question.

Melina: It's very different, actually. Yeah. So my question for you is...and I think it's an important question for based on, like, your life, where you are. I think there's a lot of women that are out there that are absolutely living in your, you know, in your season, right? So my question to you is, how do you balance, right, the...like, if you could give the listeners one or two tips of things that you do because I happen to know that you're a great mom, I know that you are a great wife, and I know that you're a great business owner. So I also know you're a great daughter, and I know that's a really big thing for you. So which obviously says to me, family is very important to you. I know that about you, but I also know that you are very driven and that you have very...you have a very clear way of being in your...we were talking about this earlier, right, that you're a mom of boys, intentionally, right?

Christie: Yeah.

Melina: But that doesn't mean that you aren't nurturing, that you aren't loving, and that your family isn't the most important thing to you. I know that they are.

Christie: Right.

Melina: Because I also know you're daddy's girl. If you were gonna give a couple of, like, I don't know, tips or tricks or insight into how do you balance all of those facets of who you are as a woman and...because you're all of those things, right? So how do you balance going after, you know, being a real estate flipper, right, and dealing with a contractor and being willing to take on the task of, "No, I don't need somebody to speak for me, right? I'm gonna go directly to..." Because you're strong that way. So how do you balance that, right, you know? If you could give a few tips or one tip, what goes on in your mind? How do you balance your time, your energy, your love, right? Because, you know, I 100% believe that women are gifted with the ability to love in a way that is...I think that's why women rule the world, frankly, is because of our ability to love. I really know that's where our power comes from, and I see that a lot in you. And so if you could give me something, if you could share with us, like, what goes on in your mind? How do you balance it?

Christie: Well, it's an interesting question because I don't...you know, I'm sitting here struggling with how do you answer that because I don't really feel like it's...like, I don't have to give a special effort to do it. Does that make sense?

Melina: Sure.

Christie: I've got so much support from my husband and my kids and my family that it's easy. I know a lot of other women probably aren't in the position that I'm in.

Melina: But, Christie, can I just say that I believe that you have the love and support of your husband and your kids and your family because of who you've been?

Melina: Yeah. I know. It really is classic because it's the truth. Like, the reason that you have such credibility in your family's life, it's not just because you're so cute and, like, you make the best cookies.

Christie: I don't.

Melina: Whatever, you know. But do you know what I'm saying? Like, how do you manage...because the truth is you have that support based on who you've been. So for example, can you give us...just give me a...how do you manage your time? Like, how is it that you stay connected to your grown boys and to your husband, who's a firefighter, who is, like, off, right? He's out of town, you know, fighting fires. So how do you maintain...like, what are some of the things that you could maybe share with us, maybe some little tips of how you stay connected to them? Because, you know, time and distance are a challenge. So what are a couple of the things, if you could share something like that?

Melina: So what is that? Why do you have such a rad family? What is it? If you were to describe your relationship with your children, how would you describe it?

Christie: I'm very close with my boys. I don't know. You know, in my family, since my kids were young, I have always made the most important thing, supporting one another. And my kids...I've been so blessed because I've always...I think I've shared with you, Kim. I've never experienced kids that just fight and argue because it's always...the most important thing to me has always been letting them know that, "No matter what happens, this is your brother. You know, you'll respect him. You'll treat them better than anyone else." That's just kind of how our family has always been. You support one another, regardless. You lift each other up no matter what they're going through. You always think of the other person first. You always put the other person before your needs.

You know, when the other person is having a bad day, do whatever you can to make their day better. Don't just pile on them, you know. Don't call out everything they're doing wrong that day. Do whatever you can just to lighten their load. And it's funny. That's kind of part of the reason why I'm still...I got involved in the real estate, was because even though my husband...my husband works his butt off. He always has.

Melina: Yes.

Christie: And even though he's worked so hard, and because he's a firefighter, he's gonna have a retirement, I feel like it's so important for me to contribute. Like, it's important for me to do what I can to lighten his load a little, to make his life just a...if there's something I can do to make his life a little easier, then that's what I want to do. If getting involved in real estate and contributing financially or some other way can make his life a little easier and make his retirement a little bit better because he's worked so hard for me, then that's how I want to contribute. You're like getting me all choked up.

Melina: I know.

Kim: Her family is so great.

Melina: That's actually...like, it's so simple what you just said, except for it is...I really, really believe this, that...and this is the secret in all families and all marriages. If everybody strived, right, to out-serve the other, then imagine, right, what...well, you live it.

Christie: Just growing up, anytime my boys would have any kind of a conflict or something, you know, or any time they'd start to say something mean, there's no place in our house for that.

Melina: Yeah, that's great.

Christie: You know? We don't tear each other down. We build each other up. And I think that, you know, I'd hate to keep going back to my husband.

Melina: Don't hate it. It's awesome.

Christie: I mean...yeah. Yeah, he's just so supportive. With him being gone so much, raising these two boys, right? I mean, there would be times...I had them two years apart. When we first got married, we were like any...we got married young. I'd just turned 21. I had my first son, two years later. We had just bought a new house. And so being a firefighter, they have the ability to work overtime. And, of course, we just got this new house and so he's just gone, right? It wouldn't be uncommon for him to work four days in a row, and I've got these two babies, two years apart.

Melina: My gosh.

Christie: You know, the first thing he'd do when he would come home...at the time, he was in L.A. He was at a very busy station. They'd be gone all night. He was in South Central, all night long, four days. He wouldn't sleep.

Melina: Right.

Christie: And then he'd come home, and he'd have this wife, that would be like, "Oh, my gosh. I haven't slept for four..." You know? The first thing that he would do when he'd come home is he'd try to do whatever he could to ease my burden, you know? So many of these men come home, and it's like, "I'm tired. I've been on duty for four days. All I want to do is..." He'd come home and, like, take my kids.

Melina: Yeah. Yeah. That's really amazing.

Christie: So it's really easy to support someone like that and to make it all work when you've got somebody who's giving that to you.

Melina: Right. Wow.

Christie: Does that make sense?

Melina: Are you kidding?

Christie: What's been awesome is my boys can grow up seeing what kind of a dad and a father he's been.

Melina: Absolutely.

Kim: That's huge.

Christie: His work ethic is unbelievable. That's rubbed off on me. It's rubbed off on my kids. And so, you know, I really want to give him all the credit for why I'm able to do everything I am. It's because of him.

Melina: That's just the perfect...that is like the perfect summation to what we were hoping to accomplish today, in my opinion, because, you know, the one thing I didn't want to do was male-bash, right? I hate boy-bashing. We love men. We love our husbands, right? We don't blame them, right, for anything. And so I think what we just did was we encapsulated the essence of women and the complexities of us and how different we all are.

Christie: Well, people want to make...I think it's so important for us to remember. And, I mean, I know in this society today that everyone wants to, like you said, male-bash.

Melina: Yeah.

Christie: But it's important for us to remember that we have different roles in life.

Melina: Hundred percent. Absolutely.

Christie: Right? It doesn't mean that we can't be successful businesswomen, that we can't be strong.

Melina: Right.

Christie: We complement each other.

Melina: Right.

Christie: Right? And I think sometimes, as women, sometimes, I think we get a harder rap because we're expected to be able to do everything, right? I mean, don't you kind of think...

Kim: That's the flip side of it, for sure.

Christie: I mean, in a way, it's kind of like an honor. I mean...

Kim: Yeah.

Christie: Well, she fell short here because she's doing everything.

Melina: Exactly. She's twirling 19 plates.

Christie: She's doing everything, where I mean...I'm not trying to male-bash, but a lot of times, men just go to work.

Melina: Yeah. That's absolutely right. Yeah.

Christie: Right? Men just go to work, and they come home, and then...I mean, hopefully, everything is fine at home but...well, the husband is at work, and he's gone. But, yeah, I'm home, and I'm having to do everything with the house. And to go back to that, when he comes home, you know, I've got the trash taken out. So many men like to say, "Well, this is his job."

Melina: Right.

Christie: He needs to take out the trash. He needs to fix this. He needs to do that.

Melina: Yeah.

Christie: You know? So, yeah, I mean, as a wife, I feel like men and women are different, but I can take out the trash.

Melina: Of course.

Christie: I mean, it sounds so simple.

Melina: I get it. No, it's a big deal.

Christie: We have our roles, yes, but that doesn't mean that we can't do more.

Melina: Agreed, 100%, agreed.

Christie: We are separate.

Melina: I 100% agree.

Christie: And I know that that's not a real popular thing in this society.

Melina: Oh, no. Listen.

Christie: You know? So many women want to be men. No, thank you.

Melina: No, I agree. Well, let me tell you something. I actually said in my class last weekend...I actually was speaking to another woman in class who was talking to me about her husband, and it was just an interesting conversation. My comment to her was to...I don't even know if I should say it. Oh, well. It doesn't matter. Anyway, so I made a comment to her that her husband expected her to buy her a car...for her to buy him a carton of cigarettes and bring it home. And she said, "I'm not gonna do that." I just was like, "Do you actually think that you not buying him a carton of cigarettes is going to make him stop smoking? Like, you're really missing the point here. The point is that he's gonna smoke no matter what, and he works. He supports his own habit, and your job...like, you guys have an agreement that your job is to take care of the household, and part of that is getting him his cigarettes. So that's what you should do. So you should, when you leave class, stop and buy him a carton of cigarettes. Because would you rather be right, right, or would you rather have a happy home life?" You know?

And then I said, "To everybody else who was offended by that, spare your email because I wasn't speaking to you. If you're offended by that, I actually don't care because I'm not talking to you, because you need to...I'm speaking to this person directly, who's given me permission to have this relationship with her. So I get that this probably isn't the popular thing to say, and I don't really care, but my relationship with her was one that I could say that to her." I said...

Christie: And that's what makes us strong women, is we don't care what people think.

Melina: Absolutely. I don't care. And I said, "Last time I had a conversation like this, somebody...I got an email, and then somebody quit the club." And I said, you know, "Bye." You know? For you to be offended by a conversation I was having with another person is like that is entirely...you are entirely not for this business. This is not the business for you, right? So that being said, I think that it is important to be fierce in our belief system and in what we believe and who we believe, and really not care about who, you know, is offended, because that wasn't my intention. And that's what I said. It's not that I'm trying to be flippant with my words, or I'm being careless with my words. The reality is that I was speaking to one person, individually, and it happened to be in a group setting, and it got brought up.

Christie: But here's kind of where the word that starts with a B and ends with an H comes in.

Melina: Absolutely.

Christie: The reason why you're successful is because of that attitude.

Melina: Yeah.

Christie: And if people don't like it, it's just too bad.

Melina: Just is what it is. I'm clear on my intentions.

Christie: Absolutely.

Kim: Exactly. That's what makes a huge difference.

Melina: Right. My intentions are never to blow up people or to get attention or anything like that. My intention is to 100% serve the person that is right in front of me, and I believe that I was able to serve her that way because I said to her, "Your marriage relationship should be the number one relationship that you are focused on." You know, the idea that...and I can get, you know, globally thinking. Sure, he shouldn't smoke, but that is so...

Christie: That's beside the point.

Melina: It has nothing to do with it. And that's totally his personal choice. And so this is about you taking care of his needs and expectations and the roles that you both have agreed on in your marriage. So go buy the cigarettes, right? So, all right, well, I feel like we could go on and on, like we could have like, you know, four days of conversation. We should definitely have more girl talk. We're gonna hijack the podcast into girl talk. So I want to thank you both for coming in today and taking the time out to share your story, to share your amazing deal, your $90,000 profit, which is very awesome.

Christie: It was fun.

Kim: It was fun.

Christie: It was very, very fun. A lot of hard work, but really fun.

Melina: That's great. So with that being said, Kim, Christie, thank you guys for being here. The girls are flipping houses, too. We're flipping off. We are flipping out. We are flipping girl talk out of here. Bye.

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